


PortalStuck

by orphan_account



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Aperture, Gen, Portal - Freeform, portalstuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-10-06
Updated: 2012-10-07
Packaged: 2017-11-15 18:55:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/530568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when you try to help out Aperture Sciences by becoming a test subject? Who knows what kinds of things you'll be forced to deal with during your day. Maybe you should be a little worried when testing starts to be a boring task. What better way to fix that than signing up for a new project the company is working on?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to Aperture

**Author's Note:**

> One day I realized that PortalStuck was not yet a thing, and I had to fix it.  
> 

 

Your name is John Egbert and holy crap is this test chamber amazing or what? You've been at it for two hours now. The higher ups should've known better than to put you in a chamber full of ledges that are perfect for flinging yourself off of. Man you could soar through the air and fly through portals all day - if the scientists would let you of course. You're fully aware that they will eventually tell you to knock it off and force you out of the chamber if you don't complete it, but you could honestly care less right now. Those guys need to relax. This is the most fun you ever get to have anymore.  
    Despite not wanting to stop flinging yourself through portals you manage to stop flying around for two seconds. You quickly locate the companion cube that is needed for a door switch somewhere above you. A few portal placements later and you find yourself strolling through the emancipation grid and out of the chamber.  You shift your weight and try and get a better grip on the portal gun you've been carrying. Man does that thing get heavy after awhile. The weird voice in the elevator lets you know that you have completed today's test chambers and tells you good job or some other silly and over used phrase.  
    The elevator comes to a stop and quickly opens. You step out and begin walking down the long hallway that you were presented with. As you walk past a panel opens and even before the voice is done telling you what to do you've set your portal gun down on it. It vanishes behind you and into the wall as you continue on farther and farther down the hallway. Soon enough you find yourself outside the all to familiar door. The number 413 sits on it in shiny gold letters. That's all you are to this facility. Just good 'ol number 413.  This hardly bothers you as much as it used to. Sure it sucks to be known to a lot of people as just a number, but you get used to it after awhile.  
    You enter your room and shut the door behind you before going about your normal routine. You grab a change of clothes from the small standard closet and head into the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later and you find yourself cleaned up and awaiting the evening meal. It arrives a few minutes later through a wall panel next to your bed. It doesn't take you long to eat and begin pacing around the room. You've started doing this lately. At first it was to clear your head as you thought about the day or what the next might be like, but now it was just to move. You really hated how bored you've become with this new lifestyle of yours. Being a test subject was fun for the first few months or so, but now you just want something new to happen.  
    With an overly dramatic sigh you flop down onto your bed. You had heard that a new project was supposed to be starting soon. One that would require the scientists in charge to hand pick subjects and not let any random person attempt them. In the past it always seemed that you had to stand out to get picked for things. You always had to be the best. You knew that you had it in you, so why not? What else did you really have to do?

* * *

  
    You've been blazing through these chambers like crazy. Ever since you woke up this morning and found out that you had in fact heard right about a new project starting, you've been determined to do your very best with these chambers. They've all just started blurring together at this point and sometimes you forget where one ended and another began. You do know however that the scientists are paying attention to your progress. It isn't very often that you are rerouted to a different floor in the middle of a series of test chambers. And it really isn't that often that they bump up the difficulty levels by a whole lot either. You swear its a miracle a turret or laser hasn't put a hole through you yet.  
    You continue on with testing until finally an elevator decides to stay still while a message for you plays. This is basically Aperture Science's way of telling you to actually pay attention to what's being said. The robotic voice comes over the speakers and politely reads out to you what you know must have been a typed message from a scientist sitting behind one of those cameras somewhere.  
    "Hello test subject! You have just completed all of the necessary tests for today. Congratulations. We have decided to award you for such wonderful results. You have been selected to test a brand new series of chambers in a new project headed by some of Aperture's top scientists. We will be moving you to a new resting chamber. An Aperture scientist will answer any questions you have once you arrive. Have a wonderful day. And remember, we do this for science!"  
    It really pains you to hear that stupid robotic voice. It can be so annoying and way to nice. Seriously, who talks like that? You don't have much time to think about it because the elevator finally begins moving. It moves down, which is a normal occurrence, but you can tell its moving a whole lot farther down than normally. Eventually it slows to a stop and the doors slide open. You're a little more hesitant than usual to step out, but you do.  
    The hallway you find yourself in is much like the ones on the upper levels. The one difference you manage to find however is that this hallway is full of different people in lab coats running around with their file folders or different work materials. You even spot a few robots rounding a corner up ahead. Its been a long time since you've seen this many people all at once. Its a bit odd actually. As you gawk at everything happening around you, you manage to almost run into a familiar looking face that had planted herself right in your way.  
    You look at the girl and instantly grin at her. "Gosh Jade is it really you? I haven't seen you around in forever!" Jade has always been a close friend of yours and she was way to smart not to become a scientist for Aperture. You've told her so a million times and helped convince her to come and work her. She used to visit you a lot when you first started testing but got moved to a new part of the facility. You guess this is where shes been hiding the whole time.  
    She smiles back at you and gives you a quick hug. "Its been too long John! I see you've been really working hard at those test chambers. I'm glad you did because that means we're going to see a lot more of each other." She grabs you by the arm and starts leading you further down the hall. "Well come on then we've got to get you situated."  
    "So are you working on whatever project this is? I think that would be so cool if we were actually working together. Oh what about the others? Is anyone else working down here too?" Its hard not to be excited and gush just a little at the thought of all of your friends being together again. You didn't realize just how much you had missed hanging out and even just talking to them, or just people in general.  
    Jade just laughs at you. "You'll just have to wait and see about that. We actually need to get you into your new room now though. You'll want to be well rested. First I'm supposed to give you a tour of this floor since its basically your new living quarters."  
    It certainly sounds like a plan to you and you let her lead you around with no objections. She doesn't really show you into any places because she says that people are probably busy working and that you'd just be interrupting anyway. Instead she just kind of leads you to a door and tells you whats behind it before taking you to the next door. You'll probably forget most of this by tomorrow anyway so you don't pay to much attention.  
    As you walk around you find yourself looking at all the people walking past, and more frequently the robots. Sure you've seen plenty of robots before but its still always cool to see them walking around. Most of these look like the simple errand runners that are often used to preform small tasks for very busy scientists. However every now and then you swear that you see experiments. Aperture has never really been known for huge experimentation's on humans unless they involve test chambers, but you swear that more than once you've seen a scientist walk past with what looks not quite like a human. You never really get a good look as your own companion leads you past everyone quickly.  
    Jades stops outside another door and turns to you. "And this is where you'll be staying! We haven't got your number put up yet so you'll have to deal with this sign for now," she explains and points at the door. You see that its just a piece of white paper with the number 413 scrawled on the middle and then taped to the door. How very advanced. Jade shoves a hand in one of her coat pockets and pulls out a pen. She draws a big smiley face in green ink under the number before turning back to you. "And now you've got the best door here, with a little smiling flare added to it!"  
    "Gee thanks Jade. I might just have to keep this sign up instead of an actual number now. Who wouldn't want smiley faces on their door?" you laugh at her.  
    "I'll be sure to tell everyone to leave your door alone then," she teases you. "Well its time you get some rest. You've got a big day tomorrow since that's the start of your new tests. I'll come and get you when we're ready for you to begin tomorrow." She moves to turn away before looking back at you. "Oh gosh I almost forgot!" She points down at your arm and you look down too. You realize shes pointing at the portal gun and that apparently both of you had forgotten that you've been carrying it around this whole time.  
    You carefully place it in her hands and crack your knuckles once the weight has left your arm. You make a mental note to tell Jade to work on a lighter model some time. "Well I guess I'll see ya tomorrow Jade," you tell her as you open the door to your new room. As you turn away you hear Jade moving away and call 'See-ya!' back at you from over her shoulder. You expect she needs to rush that portal gun to wherever it belongs now that she had remembered that it existed.  
    Your new room looks almost identical to the your previous one. You think Aperture needs to get someone to start designing these rooms better. They could be so boring and dull. To your surprise, once inside the room you find yourself to be exhausted. You'd actually done a lot of work today and the unexpected change had been nice, but you were definitely ready for bed. With thoughts of what tomorrow's test chambers could hold you got ready for bed and soon drifted off into some much needed sleep.


	2. Just another day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What goes on behind the test chambers.

Your name is Roxy Lalonde and you have had quite the busy morning. That niece of yours is really trying her best to test your skills. Jokes on her though because this is just another game that you will be winning. You happen to be so confident that you overslept and didn't even start working until you were three hours late. Rose was not extremely happy with this, but she wasn't about to tell you that. Instead she just set to work on making completely new test chambers for today's scheduled testing. You just smirked whenever you got to your desk and found that all of the chambers now included very advanced panel technologies that just love to malfunction.  
    You had your own share of fun though. Rose never missed an opportunity to watch test subjects attempting her chambers. She seemed to take a special pride in watching them fail. Her knowing smirk always remains planted on her face while the subjects run around aimlessly and curse when they mess up or almost send themselves to the nursing wing. You waited until a panel that was supposed to open up started to malfunction. A few codes were punched into your computer and then the whole wall made a lovely picture of a martini just for Rose. You wish you could've been there to see that smirk vanish.  
    You smile at the memory of just a few hours before and turn back to your computer screen. A blonde wearing a pair of aviators was running around on the screen. You watched as he ran right in front of some turrets and almost crashed into the wall in front of him. Before he did though a blue portal appeared and he was sent through it. The turrets had no idea where he went, so they ceased their shooting. A second later and the same guy had dropped right on top of them and began kicking them over. After they finally quit working a very happy looking dark haired boy ran over from a different part of the chamber. No doubt he had been hiding and was the one to make the portals appear. The two grabbed a companion cube that had been behind the turrets and ran off towards the exit.  
    You reach for the martini that you had put on your desk earlier and took a sip. There was something about those two. Something familiar. Now what was it? You just know you've met them before. It took another sip for you to remember. That's right they were friends of Rose's. You remember meeting them at some point before you had joined Aperture. You then proceed to face-palm as you remember something else. Dirk is always talking about his little brother, so how could you not have realized that the blonde with shades was him? Well you'd just have to pretend you knew that the whole time.  
    Those two seem like they have everything under control. Surely you could take a little walk and nothing would start malfunctioning while you were gone. You spin in your chair and walk away from your station. You take the all too familiar path of hallways until you're standing outside a large metal door. You knock with your free hand and wait for it to open. After a moment it swings inward and a short robot is looking back at you. "Hello again Roxy," it tells you before moving to let you in.  
    "Sup Squareweave? Is Dirky in?" you ask as you pass by the robot. He was often the one to be close enough to the door to open it for visitors. Aperture wasn't exactly okay with all the robots that Dirk kept in his office, but as long as he said they were experimental he could keep them. In truth they were actually his own personal robots that he used for different purposes. Squareweave was just a fun little dude that talked to you sometimes while you were waiting for Dirk. As per usual you find yourself stepping over some scattered robot parts as you make your way farther into the room. Some blueprints on the wall catch your eye and you stop to look at them. You don't notice when your friend enters from the back.  
    "And to what do I owe this pleasure Roxy?" he asks. You glance at him and notice that hes setting some more parts out on a table towards the back of the room.  
    "I'm checking out what new stuff you'll be giving Rose to work with soon." You point at one of the designs. "You're slacking a bit with this stuff though. It doesn't look nearly as complicated as it could be." You look his way again and add, "Or deadly."  
    "Well for that particular project that's the point. Jade wanted me to see about making a lighter model of the portal guns."  
    "You take requests now? Do ya think you can install a bar in my office? That would just be wonderful."  
    He laughs before answering you. "I'll get right on it Lalonde."  
    You walk over to the table he was working on and hop up onto the corner of it. You straighten your lab coat with your free hand. "How have you been Dirky?"  
    He doesn't even bother looking up from the parts he was tinkering with. "Just fine Rox. And you?"  
    "Oh I've been god. Heh I mean good." You both become quiet and the conversation seemed to die. He knows that you had a reason for coming to bug him while you both should be working, and apparently he's done humoring you. "So tell me Dirk, have you talked to that bro of yours lately?" If he wants you to get to the point then fine. There it is.  
    He stops what he's doing and turns around. His arms cross over his chest as he leans against the table. "I did a few days ago, but it was just a brief conversation. Why do you ask?"  
    "I'm curious if you know what hes up to right now."  
    "He's a test subject, so if I had to guess I'd say he is currently in a chamber somewhere."  
    "You worry about him too much not to know where he is. I know you've got to know about his current spot on the latest project we've all been working on."  
    "Of course I know. I was with Rose when she picked him."  
    You reach over and nudge his shoulder. "Well come on Dick spill it!"  
    He sighs and turns his gaze to you. He always seems so tired whenever you have family discussions. You know its just because he cares about his brother, but sometimes you just wish he wouldn't look so sad. "What do you want from me Roxy? This isn't exactly gossip hour. I worry about him all the time and of course you know that. Sure the tests are supposed to be harder and very dangerous at times, but he's with his friend so its okay."  
    You fall silent again for a minute as you think that over. It honestly surprises you that Dirk hasn't tried to convince his brother to stop being a test subject yet again. Of course with how many failed attempts he has maybe he finally realized that it was pointless. You sip at your drink for a minute before speaking again. "He'll be just fine," you say reassuringly.  
    You catch a glimpse of the small grin on his face. "I know."  
    You're about to say something else, but a loud beeping noise sounds from the ceiling. Its the speaker system and apparently someone is calling this room. A slightly crackling voice sounds from above. "Dirk are you in there?" Despite the shitty speaker system messing the voice up a bit you can tell its Rose. Dirk looks up to the ceiling and yells back a 'yes'. "Well if you could please tell Roxy to get back to where she is currently supposed to be at that would be lovely. Have a nice day." There is a loud click and the call is over.  
    You hop down with a laugh. "I guess I should get back then huh? Can't have Rose hunting me down." You wave as you hurry and head back to your office. When you push open the door you find Rose is already standing there. "How's my favorite niece doing?" you offer as you swing your free arm over her shoulders.  
    You can practically feel the eye roll she gives. "I'm your only niece." You continue to stare at her without responding to that comment until she answers you. "Oh just fine now that our tests for today have ended."  
    "Ended? Isn't it a bit early to end them?" you ask her. You know you weren't gone that long. Just for good measure you look around for a clock to check the time. The tests were scheduled to continue for a few more hours at least.  
    She stops you in your hunt. "Exactly my point. We had to end early due to malfunctions in the chambers that were not taken care of. I saw no need to continue the tests if there was a possibility for that issue to continue with the rest of the chambers."  
    Oh. So that's what happened. You shrug and remove your arm from your niece. "Oh well. Why not have a short day every once in awhile right?" You laugh as she shakes her head and stalks out of the room. She'd probably just give you hell for it tomorrow in some indirect way. You plop down in your chair and prop your feet on top of the desk. Just another day at work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted this to be longer, but that just didn't happen. How does one Roxy? No one knows.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm glad I finally got an Ao3 because that means I won't have to continuously spam my Tumblr with updates on this project. I'm just moving this chapter here and then I'll work on the next one! Please let me know what you think and if you have any interesting plot suggestions I'd love to hear them. I'm just playing around right now so I honsetly don't know how long this will be. If you'd like you can follow me on Tumblr, because sometimes I do discuss my writing things on there and I think its just easier for answering any questions you may have, then here it is: nerdyninjasaur.tumblr.com


End file.
